Inadequate visits to the emergency department by pregnant women.

Inadequate emergency visits, which could be resolved in primary care, are an unnecessary expense for the healthcare service. We did a review of all gynaecology and obstetrics emergency visits by pregnant or postpartum women during 2010 and 2011 in order to describe the adequacy of the visits by pregnant women to the emergency service. We defined three levels of adequacy: adequate, moderately adequate, and inadequate. One thousand seven hundred and forty-three visits to the emergency room of gynaecology and obstetrics were studied. These consultation motivations were adequate in 38.9%, moderately adequate in 46.7% and inadequate in 14.4%. This shows that the amount of inadequate and moderately adequate visits to the emergency department could be reduced by 61% by implementing different interventions, and also reducing health spending for emergencies. Impact statement What is already known on this subject: Visits to the emergency room constitute a basic pillar in the hospital structure, and it generates great health expense. Other authors have reported high rates of inadequacy of these visits to the emergency services. They find inadequate visits are associated with young age and female gender among other factors. What the results of this study add: Knowing the adequacy of the visits generated by pregnant young women is a starting point for implementing health policies that could reduce these inadequate visits and consequently health expenditure could be reduced. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research: These health policies could consequently reduce health expenditure.

Quimioterapia neoadyuvante en cáncer de mama precoz / Neoadjuvant chemotherapy in early-stage breast cancer

Objetivos. La quimioterapia neoadyuvante (QNA) es el tratamiento de elección en las pacientes con cáncer de mama localmente avanzado. El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la utilidad de QNA en tumores pequeños pero con factores pronósticos desfavorables. Material y métodos. Se compara la respuesta a la QNA en pacientes con tamaño tumoral T3-T4 frente a T1c-T2. Desde enero de 2000 a enero de 2011, 110 pacientes han recibido QNA. Se han revisado los datos demográficos, el tamaño tumoral, los factores pronósticos, la respuesta radiológica y anatomopatológica a la QNA, según la clasificación de Miller y Payne (MP), y la supervivencia en ambos grupos. Resultados. Se revisaron 76 casos en el grupo T1c-T2 y 34 en el T3-T4. En el grupo T3-T4 se observó en mayor porcentaje tumores con factores pronósticos desfavorables (afectación ganglionar, receptores hormonales negativos y Her2Neu positivo). En el grupo T1c-T2, 23 casos (30,3%) recibieron antraciclinas y 53 (69,7%) antraciclinas y taxanos, mientras que en el grupo T3-T4, 10 (29,4%) y 24 (70,6%) casos recibieron dichas pautas, respectivamente. En el grupo T1c-T2 se observó en mayor porcentaje el subtipo tumoral receptores hormonales positivos frente a tumores Her2Neu positivos en los T3-T4. En relación con la respuesta a la QNA no se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en la valoración radiológica o anatomopatológica, 38 pacientes (50%) T1c-T2 presentaron MP 4/5 frente a 16 (47,1%) en T3-T4. Conclusiones. En las pacientes con cáncer de mama precoz existe la misma respuesta anatomopatológica a la QNA que en el grupo T3-T4. En nuestro estudio, el único factor independiente asociado a la respuesta patológica tumoral es el subtipo tumoral, presentando los tumores Her2Neu positivos mejor respuesta(AU)

Aims. In locally advanced breast tumors, neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) is the standard treatment. The aim of this study was to analyze the utility of NC in small tumors with unfavorable prognostic factors. Material and methods. We compared the response to NC in patients with T3-T4 tumors versus those with T1c-T2 tumors. From January 2000 to January 2011, 110 patients received NC. Demographic data, tumor size, prognostic factors, radiological and histopathological response according to the Miller-Payne classification and survival were reviewed. Results. We reviewed 76 patients in the T1c-T2 group and 34 in the T3-T4 groups. Tumors with poorer prognostic factors (negative hormone receptors, positive Her2Neu and metastatic nodal involvement) were observed in the T3-T4 group. In the T1c-T2 group, 23 patients (30.3%) received anthracyclines and 53 (69.7%) received anthracyclines plus taxanes. In the T3-T4 group, 10 (29.4%) and 24 (70.6%) patients received these chemotherapy regimens respectively. A higher percentage of the hormone receptor-positive tumor subtype was observed in the T1c-T2 group compared with Her2Neu-positive tumors in the T3-T4 group. No statistically significant differences in radiologic or histopathologic assessment were found: Miller-Payne grades 4/5 were found in 38 patients (50%) in the T1c-T2 group versus 16 (47.1%) in the T3-T4 group. Conclusions. Pathologic response to NC is the same in early-stage tumors as in locally-advanced breast cancer. In this study, the only independent factor associated with pathological tumor response was the tumor subtype, with the greatest response being found in Her2Neu-positive tumors(AU)